I know I say it after every conference, but I really think this might have been our best conference yet. So much happened and we have so much to be proud of. If you couldn’t make it, or if you couldn’t stay for all of it, here is a quick recap of what took place…and what’s to come!
We kicked off the conference with our second Commercial Day of the year. We had over 17 speakers, including the Honorable Peter Kinder, Missouri’s Lt. Governor. Go ahead and mark your calendar for the next Commercial Day, April 20, 2016 in St. Charles.
Kinder speaking at Commercial Day
Our Opening Session was a huge success! Our featured speaker Brad Inman, owner and publisher of Inman News, delivered a stimulating presentation on “What’s Next in Real Estate and What You Need to do Right Now to be Ready”. If you missed it, you can view a recording of Brad’s presentation here. (Be sure you have activated your Inman Select account to view it.) Five lucky Opening Session attendees are going to Inman Connect New York for free!
Brad Inman with Inman Connect ticket winners
Inaugural Night on Wednesday evening was a great time. It was so fun to see my friend, Miles F. Noennig, installed as your 2016 President. I know he will do a great job leading the association forward next year. In addition to the installation of Missouri REALTORS® 2016 officers and the Missouri Chapter of Women’s Council of REALTORS® 2016 officers, two very prestigious awards were given out. Congratulations to Andrea Sheridan of the Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS® on receiving the 2015 REALTOR® Salesperson of the Year Award and James (Jim) Asbury of the Tri-Lakes Board of REALTORS® for receiving the REALTOR® of the Year Award. Watch a special video of Jim receiving his award here.
At our Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation several awards were also given out, including the 2015 R. Layne Morrill Award presented to T. David Rogers, Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS®, and the 2015 Richard A. Mendenhall Award presented to Glenn Vatterott, St. Louis Association of REALTORS®. The 12th Leadership Academy Class also graduated during this time. Their class project has already raised over $4,000!
We had two education courses focused on REALTOR® Safety on Thursday afternoon, including a safety seminar and a self-defense course. Safety was a major theme of this conference and we are happy to announce that Missouri REALTORS® is now an official partner of Safe Harbor. More on this new partnership here.
We not only raised awareness of, but also over $5,000 for, the Missouri REALTOR® Relief Foundation at our Movie Night on Thursday evening. In addition, we generously approved a $10,000 contribution to the National REALTOR® Relief Foundation at our Board of Directors meeting.
In addition to having more members in attendance than in years past, we also had 21 exhibitors present! From doing good works to business meetings to celebrating and fun – this was quite an event. Watch for more photos of the conference coming soon!
The theme of this year’s September Business Conference was #DedicatedTo and it was so enjoyable and rewarding to see what all of you are dedicated to. Here is a look at what event attendees are dedicated to. Together, we are all dedicated to the American Dream of Homeownership!
I hope you will make plans to join us at our Capitol Conference and next Business Conference: January 20-22 in Jefferson City.
Gary Nelson
2015 President
Missouri REALTORS®